Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese if Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, has asked the Federal government to immediately withdraw the N2.2 billion Ruga implementation sum captured in the 2019 budget.
Okogie’s call is a sequel to remarks by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, that the amount was already in the 2019 budget.
But Okogie said since the issue of Ruga had been suspended by the government, there was no way the amount should appear in the budget in the first place.
“The first thing is that they have to withdraw that N2.2 billion. That is the first thing that comes to my mind now, immediate withdrawal.
“They said they are suspending the programme. Since the thing is under suspension, it should not be in the budget. When there is clarity, then we know what to do,” Okogie said.
Okogie further said the government had no right in the first place to have allowed such amount of money to find it’s way into the budget, adding that the development was unfair to the nation.
“They have no right to allow it to appear in the budget because there is no decision made by anybody, either the government or we that are contesting it,” Okogie added.
Okogie further insisted that since the government had not made any decision on the issue of Ruga, the money could not be spent.